Catharine started ENERGYbits after her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and advised by her oncologist that an alkaline diet would help her heal. Catharine immediately sprung into action to help her sister research alkaline foods and in the process she discovered algae. When Catharine learned that algae was the most alkaline, plant-based, nutrient-dense food in the world and had been used for fifty years in Asia to improve health and longevity, she knew she had discovered something big (and yes, her sister fully recovered – thanks for asking).
Before making any dietary changes, please consult a dietary or medical professional
Now, let’s begin
First, I have to say that you know your body best and there are many things that can cause plateau
Here are some possible reasons:
You are too focused on calories
Yeah, it is important to know our basal metabolic rate, but when you focus too much on cutting calories, we know that our bodies adjust by slowing down our BMR.
We refer to this as survival mode
You are working out too much
You have to focus to recovery
Especially when you cut your calories too much
The combination will push your body into survival mode
Our bodies are intelligent and will adjust based on how we feed it
It may be your medication
I am not asking you to stop taking medication, but certain medications do cause weight-gain
This would be a great conversation to have with your doctor on lowering your dose or changing your medication
Not enough sleep
I should had mentioned this first, but quality sleep is the most important habit for our health
During this time, our bodies recover & heal itself
Here is an article in the show-notes on how to reset your circadian rhythm and get quality sleep
https://zecohealth.com/qualitysleep-2/
Stress
Stress is a silent killer
Chronic stress keeps your body in fight or flight for excessive times
Our bodies respond by raising cortisol, which we know promotes sugar cravings, in such case chronic stress can shut down your metabolism
Lastly, you are not pairing your foods properly
Listen to last week’s short where I explain how to pair our foods to maintain steady blood sugar
Melissa Lainn is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and the host & founder of the self-development podcast, The LifeKraft Podcast. She is passionate about helping people create a bigger experience of life, holistically. Her metaphysical approach to health brings clarity, direction, and positive support to her clients and it’s that passion that lead her to create the LifeKraft Podcast, a top self-development podcast from South Africa to empower you to create a life you’re excited to wake up to. We are all capable of creating a bigger experience of health, abundance, and joy in the life we already have. Melissa helps you remember your innate power and step into it fully, every day.
Welcome to another episode of The Matter Over Mind Experience.
I am your host, Master Trainer & Weight Management Expert, Narado Zeco Powell
Recently, I have been receiving my questions from listeners about health, fat-loss and other topics.
Even though I address these questions, I have come to realize that many people have similar questions
So, going forward, I will aim to provide 1 to 2 Q & A episodes per month.
Feel free to email me any questions you may have @ narado@zecohealth.com or dm on IG @zecohealth
I will not disclose your name or any information about you.
Let’s begin today’s Q & A session
Question 1- In order to maximize fat-burn, should I eat fat and protein at night or carbs?
This is a tricky question. Remember, do not confuse anything I say as direct nutrition advice
This answer comes down to sleep quality. We know that our brain prefers glucose or ketones
On a standard low carb diet, the brain will still largely depend on glucose, the sugar found in your blood, for fuel.
However, the brain may burn more ketones than on a regular diet.
On a ketogenic diet, ketones are the primary fuel source for the brain.
So, unless you are on a ketogenic diet or if you are metabolically flexible, you may want to feed your body glucose in the evenings
I generally say, at a complete meal, fats, protein & fiber then eat carbs i.e berries for dessert.
This will keep your blood sugar steady and provide your brain steady dose of glucose
Question2- If I want to lose weight, should I focus on low carb so my body is always in fat burn?
Well, this comes down to being metabolically flexible.
Being in fat-burn, can be good in the short term, but we have enough science to know that over time, our bodies downregulate it’s ability to burn carbs efficiently
So, if you return to eating carbs, your body will likely store them
This is why I recommend training your metabolism to have the ability to break down fats & carbs
This is being metabolically flexible
Question3- I fast for 16 hours daily for the past few week, but I have only lost 2 pounds. Why would that be?
This question came from a female
I highlight this because fasting windows for men & women are different
When we fast too long, we can actually stress our bodies
This stress response can slow down our metabolism & lower our BMR
Note, my answer here is regarding daily fasts
Studies show that women should not fast more than 12 to 14 hours daily
This seems ideal for most women I have worked with
Question4- I heard that cold exposure can improve weight loss, is this true & how?
In principle yes, cold exposure can activate brown fat
Brown fat breaks down blood sugar (glucose) and fat molecules to create heat and help maintain body temperature.
Cold temperatures activate brown fat, which leads to various metabolic changes in the body.
Most of our fat, however, is white fat, which stores extra energy.
Too much white fat builds up in obesity
Scientists have also discovered that white fat behaves like brown fat when exposed to cold temperatures
Research tells us that temperatures around 66 degrees can activate brown fat
So, yes, cold exposure can activate brown fat
Question5- What is the best kind of breakfast for weight-loss?
This is a tough one, again, please do not confuse with nutrition guidance and before making any dietary changes, please consult a medical or dietary professional
First, we need to know that insulin is usually higher in the mornings
The boost in sugar is your body’s way of making sure you have enough energy to get up and start the day
It’s called the dawn phenomenon or the dawn effect
Another thing that triggers this is If your blood sugar drops too low in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, your body will release hormones in an attempt to “rescue” you from the dangerously low blood sugar
Another reason why eating a balanced and feeding your brain and body glucose the night before can be helpful
Regarding mornings, eating a balanced breakfast with minimal carbs is best for most people
The same idea as dinner
What I say is stay away from high sugary breakfasts
Try to eat balanced and whole foods
These simple, processed, sugary foods are among the worse things you can do for your health and metabolism
There is it fam
Feel free to email me questions @ narado@zecohealth.com or dm ms on Instagram @npowell4
High-intensity interval training (aka HIIT) is where you work, then rest, then work again
HIIT workouts are defined as being done at 80-95% of your maximum heart rate
In this style of training, you train above zone 2 & stay above the anaerobic zone
Now, let’s break down the benefits:
HIIT can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time
Your metabolic rate is higher for hours after HIIT exercise
HIIT can help you lose fat.
You might gain muscle using HIIT
HIIT can improve oxygen consumption
HIIT can reduce heart rate and blood pressure
HIIT can reduce blood sugar
As we can see, there are benefits to this type of training & I recommend that most people have 1 to 2 days of high intensity training per week with 3 to 4 days of moderate training
Variety in your training is vital for performance, health & fat-loss
I want to stress, I broke this down in last week’s short, if you are trying to lose weight, to not workout in high intensity all the time
Oliver got his start in the trenches of the health world as a PT in a big box gym. After 7 years of working with primarily high-performing business owners he saw the extent to which stress, inflammation, and a lack of focus on recovery was ruining any progress they were making, and, worse still, was leaving them burnt out and unproductive mentally as well. Rather than simply encouraging high-performers to do more and work harder, Olly has worked with world-leading experts in exercise, nutrition, biochemistry, and coaching, such as Brian Walsh, The Poliquin Group, Kassem Hanson, Ben Pukulski, Linh Trinh, and Cliff Harvey, among others, to develop a more holistic, scientific, and sustainable approach to health and performance.
Dr Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. is a veteran psychologist and longtime CEO of a multi-million dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry. Doctor Glenn’s work, theories, and research have been published in major periodicals like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Sun Times.
Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Doctor Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own patients AND a self-funded research program with more than 40,000 participants.
Most important, however, was his own personal journey out of obesity and food prison to a normal, healthy weight and a much more lighthearted relationship with food.
Dr Glenn Livingston teaches why Binge Eating and Overeating is such a popular problem.
There are two factors which combine to form the perfect storm in our culture and have created a horrendously difficult mountain to climb for anyone who wants to stop overeating.
(a) the food industry’s billions and;
(b) the addiction treatment industry’s message of powerlessness.
Dr Glenn Livingston Teaches Us:
1 – How to define your own Food Plan to achieve your particular health and fitness goals 2 – How to stop overeating 3 – How to never binge again
First, let’s discuss why blood sugar control is important:
Research tells us that there are connections between insulin resistance & weight-gain.
Poor blood sugar control leads to insulin resistance, pre-diabetes & type 2 diabetes
Up to 47% of people worldwide are insulin resistant.
Now, let’s talk exercise
When you exercise, your muscles use more glucose, the sugar in your bloodstream
Over time, this can lower your blood sugar levels
It also makes the insulin in your body work better
It sounds easy right? Exercise more and lower blood sugar, but it is not that simple
The type of exercise is important
Here is a list for the best exercises for blood sugar control from Healthline:
Walking
Cycling
Swimming
Team sports
Aerobic dance
Weightlifting
Resistance band exercises
Calisthenics
Do you know what all these have in common?
They are not strenuous & can be done at your own pace
Primarily, training in level 2
Moderate intensity training, even if you temporarily cross the anaerobic zone tends to be more beneficial for fat-loss & blood sugar control
High intensity can be helpful for many reasons, we have more evidence now that explains the benefits of moderate exercise
Excessive intense training actually creates more sugar cravings
High intensity training causes you to provide the stress hormones such as adrenaline, which stimulates your liver to release more glucose
It may take 24 to 48 hours for blood glucose to fall to normal levels
This is not necessarily bad, however, if you are ways training above the anaerobic zone, well you are constantly triggering stress hormones, in turn, your blood sugar does not normalize
Don’t worry, variety is the spice of life
Have a mixture of moderate & high intensity days
If you are trying to lose weight, I recommend no more than 2 high intensity days and 3 moderate days
This way, you can take advantage of the benefits of both types of exercise
Next week’s short will be on the benefits of high intensity training
Sarah Kay Hoffman is the founder of A Gutsy Girl (agutsygirl.com) which is an online community geared towards women who are looking for reasonable approaches for healing IBS, IBD, SIBO, and all things gut-focused.
What began as an online journal documenting the day-to-day with one health issue after the next, would become less story-focused; more research and journalistic-based.
Today, Sarah seeks out highly-detailed information and then condenses it in digestible ways for women worldwide.
Sarah Kay Hoffman graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Marketing/English/Mass Communications. After years of struggling with her own health issues and considering there must be more to healing than the answers she was given, she went on to study at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition adding a CHC (Certified Health Coach) to her education.
She began devoting every spare second to studying, researching, (and practicing!) and things gut health and gut healing.
Today she spends 100% of her career-focused time on A Gutsy Girl doing everything from speaking to companies worldwide on gut health and the inspiration for achieving it to researching, writing, and creating tools like her 90-day gut healing journal, Healing Blooms from Within, for women worldwide. She has a published book, The Leaky Gut Meal Plan: 4 Weeks to Detox and Improve Digestive Health along with several e-books and other guides. Her main book, A Gutsy Girl’s Bible and Gut Healing for Beginners e-course have both just released.
When Sarah is not giving back to the Gutsy community, she is likely writing on a more personal level atA Thyme for Milk and Honey (athymeformilkandhoney.com), traveling, drinking lattes, reading her Bible, enjoying life in a small town, and soaking up all the love that is her husband, three adorable children, Peekepoo and two Great Danes, family, and friends.
A Gutsy Girl teaches, preaches, and lives by the motto:
